The 25 richest people in fashion

Although the fashion business might not always be entirely glamorous, there's something profoundly alluring about the world of runways and spring-summer collections — not to mention the amount of money that goes around.

Business Insider has compiled a list of the 25 richest people in the fashion industry. Using information from Forbes' 2017 list of billionaires, the list contains designers, founders, CEOs and marketing moguls that have made their fortunes in fashion retail — from fast fashion to haute couture.

Scroll on to discover the 25 richest people in the fashion industry, including a description of each brand's rise to prominence, ranked in ascending order.

23 (tie). Alexandre Grendene Bartelle — $2.4 billion

Alexandre Grendene Bartelle founded the shoe brand Grendene with his twin brother Pedro in 1971. Grendene is a household name in its home country of Brazil, and international supermodel Gisele Bundchen even released her own line of flip-flops in partnership with the brand.

Grendene is now the world's largest sandal manufacturer and Brazil's leading shoe exporting company, according to Forbes. Some of Alexandre Grendene Bartelle's fortune is also a result of his investments in sugar and kitchen unit manufacture.

23 (tie). Bernard Lewis — $2.4 billion

Bernard Lewis founded UK high street fashion retailer River Island in 1948, with three of his brothers. Lewis decided to move into fashion retail following the success of his greengrocer's shop which he founded beforehand, according to nephew and current River Island chief, Ben Lewis. The high street name has come a long way since then, with sales reaching $1.26 billion last year, according to a report by Fashion United.

River Island has always been a family business. Lewis remains Chairman of the company, with his son Clive taking on the role of Deputy Chairman. Nephew Ben Lewis is now chief of operations.

22 (tie). Miuccia Prada — $2.6 billion

Miuccia Prada holds a 28% stake in luxury fashion and handbag brand Prada. She shares the role of CEO with her husband, Patrizio Bertelli. The husband and wife have a net worth of $2.6 billion each.

Prada was founded in 1913 by Miuccia's grandfather as a luxury luggage company. It was under Miuccia Prada's leadership that the brand expanded into fashion and designer womenswear. Miuccia Prada is also the founder of the Prada subsidiary, Miu Miu, which was founded in 1993.

22 (tie). Patrizio Bertelli — $2.6 billion

Patrizio Bertelli shares the role of CEO of Prada with wife Miuccia. Bertelli reportedly covers the business side of the brand, while Miuccia Prada addresses brand image and design lines.

The Prada brand's assets were severely knocked due to a sales slump in the first half of this year, according to Forbes.

21. Doris Fisher — $2.7 billion

Reuters

Doris Fisher co-founded Gap with her late husband, Donald Fisher, in San Francisco in 1969. The couple reportedly launched the company after struggling to find jeans that fitted Donald.

Fisher worked as the brand's merchandiser from the day it opened until she retired in 2003. However, she retains a 7% stake in the company. Since she retired, Gap's board now comprises Fisher's three sons.

20. Horst Wortmann — $2.8 billion

Horst Wortmann founded the German shoe manufacturer Wortmann KG in 1967. Since then, Wortmann's company has grown to produce 50 million pairs of shoes that are sold in over 15,000 stores across 70 countries.

Although Wortmann stepped down from his role in operational management in 2016, passing the position on to his nephew Jens Beining, the company's founder is still highly involved in the Wortmann KG's strategy department.

18 (tie). Isak Andic — $2.9 billion

Isak Andic is the founder of international clothing retail chain Mango. Andic launched the fashion brand with brother Nahman when the pair moved to Barcelona, Spain, from their native city of Istanbul.

Mango now has stores in over 100 countries, according to the company's site, with franchises accounting for 65% of stores. International sales reportedly make up 83% of the brand's total revenue.

17. Jacky Xu — $3.1 billion

Established in 1999, Trendy International is managed by Jacky Xu. The fashion group owns many brands including Ochirly, COVEN GARDEN, and Miss Sixty.

Trendy International refers to itself as a "fashion conglomerate that possesses a rich portfolio of fashion brands" and runs many high-profile advertising and marketing campaigns for its brands, including a recent campaign for Ochirly which featured A-list supermodels Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner (above).

15. Hanni Toosbuy Kasprzak — $3.3 billion

Hanni Toosbuy Kasprzak is the owner and CEO of Danish shoe manufacturer ECCO.

The shoe brand's sales reached $1.3 billion across its 1,300 stores last year, and it sold over 20 million pairs of shoes worldwide. The company claims that 210 pairs of hands touch each pair of shoes before it reaches the customer.

Toosbuy Kasprzak inherited the company from her father, Karl Toosbuy, who founded ECCO in 1963.

14. Qiu Guanghe — $3.4 billion

Qiu Guanghe is the founder and chairman of Chinese fashion retailer Semir. Established in 1996, Semir prides itself on creating cutting-edge, affordable fashion for young people. The brand currently has over 3,000 stores open across China.

Known for its colorful and affordable knitwear, Italian fashion brand Benetton was founded after Luciano Benetton wore a bright yellow jumper knitted by his sister Giuliana to his job at a clothing store. Upon receiving many compliments from his colleagues, Luciano and his siblings realized there was a gap in the market for fun knitwear and decided to launch the company in 1965.

Benetton's website states that "our garments go universally hand-in-hand with optimism and creativity. Knitwear is our soul, innovation is our fuel. And in over 50 years we haven’t forgotten our roots."

Luciano, Giuliana, Gilberto, and Carlo Benetton all hold the same stakes in the company, putting their net worth at $3.5 billion each.

12. Renzo Rosso — $4.1 billion

Renzo Rosso is president of fashion group Only The Brave — the parent company of brands such as Diesel, Viktor&Rolf, and Marni. After founding Diesel in 1978, Rosso bought out his co-founder and gained complete control of the denim brand in 1985.

As his net worth surged, Rosso bought out other high-end fashion companies such as Viktor&Rolk and Marison Margiela, encompassing them in the Only The Brave group which launched in 2002.

Rosso's net worth continues to surge as Only The Brave obtains more brands, and has risen by $1 billion since March this year.

11. Philip and Cristina Green — $5.3 billion

Philip and Cristina Green own multiple high street fashion brands including Topshop and Topman, Dorothy Perkins, and Miss Selfridge. The couple also used to own the department store chain BHS prior to its collapse.

Green started his fashion empire at 21, using a $30,000 loan from his family to import jeans from Asia, according to Forbes. Cristina reportedly started her first clothing store in South Africa during a previous marriage. The pair later met and combined their businesses.

10. Ralph Lauren — $5.9 billion

The founder and former CEO of the eponymous American luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren remains chairman of the label he started in the 1960s, and he retains 82% of the voting rights within the company.

Lauren started designing neckties with a wider cut — branding them the "Polo" cut — and selling them in New York department stores while also working at the men's boutique Beau Brummell. 50 years later, the internationally renowned brand took $7.4 billion in sales in 2016, according to Forbes.

9. Anders Holch Povlsen — $7.2 billion

Anders Holch Povlsen is the CEO and sole owner of Danish fashion retailer Bestseller. Povlsen's parents started the company in 1975 and he was only 28 when his father, Troels Holch Povlsen, made him the sole owner of the company in 1990.

Bestseller is the parent company of many internationally acclaimed fashion labels, including Vero Moda, Only, and Jack & Jones.

8. Giorgio Armani — $8.6 billion

The sole owner of the Armani empire, Giorgio Armani's luxury fashion house has ventures in haute couture, sportswear, beauty, and ready-to-wear fashion, among others.

The Italian-born fashion designer founded his company in 1975 after leaving medical school early. Now, Armani is often dubbed one of the most successful Italian fashion designers in history, with sales in 2016 estimated at €2.78 billion ($3.32 billion).

7. Heinrich Deichmann — $10.6 billion

Heinrich Deichmann is the chairman and CEO of international budget shoe manufacturer Deichmann. Heinrich Deichmann's grandfather started the business as a cobbler's shop in Germany in 1913. When he died during WWII, his wife managed the store until their son, the current Chairman's father, finished university and could take on the business.

Deichmann's reputation for creating affordable footwear is ingrained in its history. The family company organized a second-hand shoe exchange scheme in order to help struggling customers after the war, according to the company's website.

Heinrich Deichmann took over from his father in 1999. Since then, Deichmann has grown to become Europe's leading shoe retailer, with 3,700 stores across 34 countries.

6. Alain and Gerard Wertheimer — $12.7 billion each

Alain Wertheimer co-owns the French fashion house Chanel with his brother, Gerard, who manages the company's watch department. The brothers have a net worth of $12.7 billion each.

Alain and Gerard Wertheimer inherited the Chanel empire from their grandfather, Pierre Wertheimer, who founded the brand with Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in 1913. When Chanel died in 1971, the fashion house continued to recycle the designer's same styles and trademark cuts until the company hired Karl Lagerfeld in 1983. Now, Lagerfeld acts as the fashion house's creative director while Alain and Gerard Wertheimer oversee the business side of the brand.

5. Tadashi Yanai — $14.9 billion

Tadashi Yanai is the founder and owner of Japanese clothing empire Fast Retailing — the parent company of Uniqlo.

Yanai began his career at his father's roadside tailor shop in suburban Japan, according to Bloomberg. Yanai later changed the name of the company to Fast Retailing in the early 1990s in order to reflect his fast-fashion business strategy.

Last year, Fast Retailing made ¥‎1.78 trillion ($16 billion) in sales, according to their annual reports — over a third of which was made by Uniqlo alone.

4. Stefan Persson — $19.7 billion

Chairman of best-selling fashion retailer H&M, Stefan Persson was managing director of the company for 16 years until he passed the role on to his son, Karl-Johan Persson, in 1998. The Swedish fast-fashion business is the world's second-largest clothing retailer, according to its website, and has over 4,500 stores in 62 countries around the world, employing 130,000 staff.

Persson's sister, two sons, and daughter are all also billionaires as a result of their stakes in the company. Together, the Persson family own approximately 33% of H&M.

3. Francois Pinault — $23.7 billion

Francois Pinault owns the majority stake in the Paris-based luxury retail group Kering — the parent of a multitude of luxury fashion brands including Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, and Balenciaga. Since March this year, Pinault's net worth has increased a staggering $8 billion.

The French businessman and art collector also owns a plethora of auction houses, wineries, and French publications.

2. Bernard Arnault — $58.8 billion

Bernard Arnault is the Chairman and CEO of LVMH — the world's largest luxury goods company. LVMH is the parent company of over 70 household names, including Louis Vuitton, Sephora, and Bulgari.

Arnault's vast $58.3 billion fortune is made up of stakes in LVMH, and stock in Christian Dior, French supermarket chain Carrefour, and Hermès. He is the eighth richest person in the world according to Forbes, and is France's richest man. Arnault's net worth has increased a staggering $16.8 billion since March earlier this year.

1. Amancio Ortega — $82.5 billion

Amancio Ortega is the richest man in Europe and the wealthiest retailer in the world, according to Forbes' 2017 rich list. Ortega made his vast $82.5 billion fortune through the Spanish fashion retail group Inditex, which he founded with his ex-wife Rosalia Mera in 1975.

Inditex has been dubbed the largest fashion group in the world and conducts business in over 7,200 stores. Inditex's subsidiary brands include the likes of Zara, Bershka, Oysho, Zara Home, and Pull&Bear.